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02 April 2007

Satisfied with my interview: I did my best

Whew. I did everything I could to prepare and I feel quite satisfied. I think I really did my best. The guy who called from Google to interview me was named Christian. He was very nice, obviously intelligent, and Danish. We had a fabulous discussion about genealogy.

Anyway, the basics were:

1. Tell me about the training manual, style guide, and glossary you did at the Family History Library (I did--perfect to show initiative, editing skills, leadership, etc.)

2. Tell me about having twelve direct reports. What sort of things did you have them do? (We were over standards. So, all customer/staff interactions, up-to-date technology, refresher and initial training were ours. I would assign people to create and review and train.)

3. Did you have to solve some problems? (Yes, worked first with individuals, then with others, and, if needed, with management. Example: young coworkers without proactive attitudes.)

4. What did you learn/enjoy at the Library? (Great coworkers, leadership, working together, editing, working fast, making things look nice, etc.)

5. Was there anything you didn't like? (People giving input was more like discouraged boundary-crossing than teamwork!)

6. How did you organize records at the Library? (Database, microfilm, Dewey Decimal, assigned shelf reading. He kept coming back to this one in different ways, he really thought it was fascinating.)

7. So you studied in Germany. What were some cultural differences you noticed? (Privacy, hours of stores, etc.)

8. What are some challenges you would see with localization? (Languages, culture differences, colors, measurements, dialects, knowing if the product really is good, Americanized translators, etc.)

9. What is something you've seen or thought of that Google should explore? (I had the perfect answer for this one . . . well, several, but I focused on one: genealogy. I said, "If anyone has the computing power to gather the billions of genealogical records around the world, it would be Google." He said, "Yes, and it fits with Google's goal to get the world's information to everyone for free." Wahoo! I also said that older users would be more drawn to try Google search and its products, even those who are afraid to touch computers.)

I felt like I really knew what I was talking about, like I actually read and did all the studying for an exam. I should hear something in a couple of weeks . . . about the same time I hear from Columbia. Grandpa asked me all sorts of questions about Google, and as I was telling him, he said, "Those are big words! Did you really know all those answers?" I realized that I really have enjoyed learning all about Google and I would love to work for such a fast-growing, fast-paced, unique company.